Friday, May 08, 2009

Star Trek Reflection (Spoiler Free)

I already twittered my glowing opinion of Star Trek, but I need to explain in more detail (albeit with no spoilers).

There are a few areas that needed to be addressed by the team

JJ Abrams needs to strike a perfect balance in showing a deep respect and appreciation for where the series has been while still making it fresh and approachable for those not heavily invested in the series. This is essential in order to preserve it's roots while still branching out, both direly essentially at this point if there is any hope for there being a future to the series. (5/5)

Pretty early on in the film I knew Abrams had nailed both sides - respecting the roots while embracing the branches. I feel like two scenes are representative of this. First (I will be vague to avoid spoilers), the clear reference to events that are revealed in Wraith of Khan (This really is the best, and only, Star Trek movie I highly recommend watching before seeing it). That is, besides the lines scattered in just about every scene that any Trekkie will love. On the other side of things, I feel like the base jumping (a prominent element of current pop culture) scene is representative of Abrams relevant understanding of a fresh audience.

Castings is key for a series that has to much history. Even more so, Abrams was stepping on sacred ground when he attempted recast the characters that made kicked it all off. If done correctly, this will be a thrill for anyone who is familiar with the original. (5/5)

While I am younger then the majority of long time fans, and I understand this might influence my opinion, I thought the cast was nailed. I had a huge grin on my face each time a new member of the cast was revealed.

Recent trends of the Star Trek series has been to embrace the action packed thrill ride formula that dominated the blockbuster list of Hollywood. Unfortunately, this was done with a tired cast and lacked the creative direction to even pull that off. Abrams needs to resist the allure of the action formula and craft a story and characters that are engaging on more levels then punches and explosions. (4/5)

Much to Elena's dismay, this wasn't quite a 5 out of 5. She loved Wraith of Khan, but lost interested half way through when the action started to pick up. While I understand the complaint, I didn't feel like it really detracted from the effort to revitalize the series. Anyone who enjoys the likes of a Bourne flick will feel right at home. One of the sweet spots for both Elena and I was the probing look at Vulcan culture early on in the film. Not to mention the opening scene will grab you and pull you along for most of the movie in and of itself.

So as I twittered, Star Trek was everything (and more) I was hoping it would be.

With JJ Abrams views on television (he likes it more, and sees a more prominent future for it, then movies) and a cast that largely has experience with television, this Trekkie is crossing his fingers for a renewed interested in Star Trek and a revitalized team to move it forward.